LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER IV

      During the journey Jimmy began to piece together the facts which he had learnt.

      The first thing to be established was the time at which the crime had been committed. Linton’s presence in the consulting-room had been very helpful here. It was reasonable to suppose that the noise which he had heard and had supposed to have originated in the kitchen had been, in fact, the sound of Mr Fransham’s body falling in the cloakroom. He had looked at his watch immediately after this and had found the time to be seven minutes past one. Again, Linton’s observations had fixed the time of the doctor’s return at 1.12 p.m.

      Next, disregarding for the moment the nature of the object with which the blow had been struck, the murderer must have stood in the carriage-way in order to commit his crime. This fact was established by the presence of the brick wall. Therefore, Coates’ statement that nobody could have entered the carriage-way without his knowledge must be set aside as unreliable.

      This involved the consideration of a question which Jimmy had already asked himself. Could the chauffeur himself have been the criminal? The relations which had existed between him and his master had not yet been inquired into. It might be discovered that he had some grudge against Mr Fransham. On the other hand, there was Linton’s presence to be considered. He had been in the consulting-room, the window of which overlooked the garage. Could Coates have taken the turn-cock from its nail, struck his employer with it, returned to the garage and cleaned the key, all without Linton having observed him?

      It seemed hardly likely, and yet the possibility remained. There was no reason to doubt Linton’s good faith; only the exact accuracy of his statement. Was he looking out of the consulting-room window all the time? His attention must have been diverted at intervals. While he was listening to the sounds within the house, or drinking his beer, for instance? People were so apt to say, ‘I never took my eyes off so and so for an instant.’ Whereas, in fact, they had only looked at it at more or less frequent intervals.

      Failing Coates, was it possible to assume the guilt of some unknown person, X? Coates’ statement must in any case be discounted. Someone must have entered the carriage-way and it might as well have been X as anybody else. But X must have entered by the drive gate and departed by the same route. Was it likely that he would have risked doing so in full view of the windows in front of the house? Dr Thornborough had stated that he had seen Alfie Prince crossing the road very shortly after the crime had been committed. Jimmy decided that one of his first moves on his return to Adderminster should be to interview Alfie.

      Finally, there remained the doctor himself. Jimmy had not been altogether satisfied with the superintendent’s reasoning. It had seemed to him that Yateley’s conclusions had been based upon insufficient data and that he had closed his mind to any other possibility. But as a result of his own observations he was bound to admit that things looked pretty black against Dr Thornborough. The most plausible theory that Jimmy could evolve pointed to him as the culprit. He had taken the turn-cock with him in the car when he started on his rounds. On his return, he had stopped outside the cloakroom window and delivered the fatal blow. He had left the turn-cock in the car and in the course of the afternoon had seized an opportunity of cleaning it and putting it back in its place.

      Jimmy was still pondering the fact when his train reached London. He took a taxi to Scotland Yard, where he handed over the turn-cock for expert examination. He had half-hoped to find Hanslet in his room, but by now it was nearly ten o’clock and the superintendent, not being on duty, had gone home. Jimmy went home to his quarters and after a restless night caught the first train to Adderminster on Sunday morning.

      When he got to the police station he found Sergeant Cload in charge. ‘Good-morning, sergeant,’ he said. ‘Any fresh developments since I’ve been away?’

      ‘Nothing very much, sir,’ Cload replied. ‘The body’s been brought down to the mortuary and it’s lying there now. The super’s given orders that a man is to remain on duty at the doctor’s house until further orders. I think that’s about all, sir, except that we’ve got Alfie Prince locked up in the cells here. I don’t know what we’re going to do with that chap, I’m sure.’

      ‘What’s he been up to now?’ Jimmy asked.

      ‘Stealing an overcoat, sir. It was like this. Just after you left last night, Linton was on his way up to the doctor’s house to relieve me. On his way up there he passed Alfie and noticed that he was wearing a brand-new overcoat. He thought that was a bit queer, for Alfie’s never been seen in such a thing before. So he jumped off his bike and asked Alfie where the coat came from and Alfie told him that he’s just found it.’

      Jimmy smiled. ‘Not a very likely story,’ he said.

      ‘So Linton thought, sir. So he brought Alfie back here, took off his coat and had a look at it. He found a label sewn on to it with the name of Murphy’s, the outfitters in Middle Street. They usually have a row of coats hung up outside the shop in fine weather, especially on Saturday evenings. So Linton took the coat round to Murphy and asked him if he’d sold it to Alfie. He said that he hadn’t but that he’d just missed one from the row. So Linton charged Alfie and the super said we’d better put him in the cells till Monday morning.’

      ‘Did Alfie make any further statement?’

      ‘Well yes, he did, sir, but he talks in such a rambling way that you can hardly understand him. He said it was quite true that he’d found the coat for he’d seen it hanging up in Middle Street and taken it. When he was asked why he had taken the coat, he said because he wanted a new one as he had sold his old one the night before for half a crown and a packet of fags. Of course, that was nonsense, for you never saw anything so filthy and ragged as his old coat in your life. Nobody would have given him twopence for it, let alone half a crown. But that’s just like Alfie. He’s not quite right, as I’ve said all along.’

      ‘What’s his job when he feels like doing a spot of work?’

      ‘He’ll take anything that comes along, sir. He used to work as a bricklayer’s labourer at one time, and got on very well, I’ve been told. But he wouldn’t stick to it, and since then he’s picked up jobs here and there just as suited him. There are plenty in the town who are glad to give him work from time to time, for he puts his back into it while the fit’s on him.’

      ‘There’s no objection to my asking him a few questions, I suppose?’

      ‘None at all, sir. But whether you’ll be able to make any sense of what he tells you is another thing. I’ll bring him along in here, if you like, sir.’

      Cload went off in the direction of the cells, to reappear a few minutes later with the errant Alfie. The latter was a man of middle height, apparently in the early forties, with a round and rather childlike face. Beneath a tangled shock of red hair was a pair of deep-set blue eyes which seemed to be inhabited by some demon of restlessness. Without invitation he sat down in the nearest chair and scrutinised Jimmy keenly.

      ‘You don’t come from these parts, master,’ he said confidently.

      ‘All right, let him be, sergeant,’ said Jimmy. ‘No, I don’t, Alfie, you’re quite right. But I dare say we shall manage to get on all right together in spite of that. Have a cigarette?’

      Alfie took the proffered case, emptied it into his hand, and put all the cigarettes but one into the pocket of his tattered coat. ‘I knew you was a gentleman as soon as I set eyes on you,’ he said complacently. ‘And the sergeant, who’s another, will give me a match, I dare say.’

      The sergeant having provided the necessary light, Jimmy began his interrogation.

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